"For me, photography is an excuse to meet all kinds of different people, from politicians to coal miners to punks," says documentary photographer and Canon Ambassador Nanna Heitmann. "I get to know people I would otherwise never have met or had the chance to see into their lives."

Nanna's curiosity about people who are physically, mentally or culturally isolated, and how their environment shapes them, drives much of her work. Her photographs have been published in magazines including National Geographic, Time and The New York Times. In 2019, she won the prestigious Sunday Times Award for Achievement and was invited to join Magnum Photos as a nominee.

One of Nanna's most recent projects, Pandemic in Russia, examined the battle against Covid-19 in a country with one of the world's highest infection rates. She photographed the work of charities helping society's most vulnerable and the reality of daily life in Moscow's overwhelmed hospitals. It was the most challenging project she has done so far, she says.

"I'd never worked really on something like that, a crisis situation, so for me it was really shocking to see thousands of people suffering so much, or dying in front of me," Nanna explains. "It was also difficult in a practical way because I was wearing full PPE for 12 hours at a time without drinking or eating. I really admired the doctors working in this demanding situation for 24 or 28 hours at a time with breaks of only 12 or 24 hours between shifts."

Although her projects span a range of subjects, Nanna says her aim is always to draw attention to the situation of the people she's photographing. "When I'm doing journalistic work, I want to raise awareness of the topic," she says. "I also want to record things of cultural significance that are disappearing. For example, when I was photographing coal mining in Germany, I was aware that this industry, which was so important for the postwar German economy, wouldn't exist in the near future. But sometimes I'm motivated by something other than raising awareness or creating a historical document. Sometimes I just want to take the viewer into another world."

How do you find the people you photograph?

"It's a mixture of planning and coincidence. For my project on Germany's last coal mine, for example, the company allowed me to walk around and meet people, and I found others through miners' cultural associations. On a road trip, however, I often meet people by accident. If I'm following a feeling, I seem to attract more people to photograph."


Do you know what a project is going to be about before you start? Or does it develop gradually?

"Some stories are as I expect, such as the one on Covid-19, but most of the time projects change a lot from the way they begin. On my current project, for instance, I went on a road trip to photograph people in a certain area but by coincidence ended up in another place and community, so it became a completely different project."


How long do you normally work on a project?

"It totally depends on the subject, but I'm not a person who could work on something for many years. I'm not sure I would have the patience to do that. When I come to a new place, I see so much, but after a while I see less and new pictures appear more slowly."


How can documentary photographers stand out from the crowd?

"For me it was important to have a solid portfolio – at least two bodies of work you can show to editors and use to apply for competitions and grants. Even if you don't win, the same important people such as picture editors are sitting on so many juries. If they continue to see your work there's a chance they will commission you."


What's been the highlight of your career so far?

"Career-wise, it was very unexpected and a blessing to become a Magnum nominee in 2019. I still can't really believe it and I'm super happy about it."

Nanna Heitmann